The Best of WNC is on the way!

It’s our biggest issue ever: 136 pages packed with awesomeness. Here are a couple of scenes from the loading dock. On board? 19,000 pounds of Mountain Xpresses!

This week, we’ve got 60 full pages of Best of WNC winners, along with a packed regular issue. Get ‘em while they’re hot, and stay tuned for Round Two!

Photos by Andy Sutcliffe.

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19 thoughts on “The Best of WNC is on the way!

  1. Jeff

    For those readers wondering why their copy of Mountain Xpress looks like it was chewed by a wolf, that photo of the Jeep should explain a lot.

  2. paul_randall

    Papa’s and Beer over Salsa’s and Asheville Pizza for best pizza???? This “Best of” is really becoming a joke. Hilarious…

  3. TokyoTaos

    Paul – Papa’s and Beer didn’t even place under Best Pizza – what are you talking about? Asheville Pizza was first, Marco’s was second and Mellow Mushroom and Circle on the Square tied for third.

  4. paul_randall

    Tokyo, Papa’s was under another category with Salsa’s. I was referring to both…that’s why I included the word “and”.

  5. jeff

    Salsa’s is highly overrated but even more overpriced. Last time I had lunch there with one beer it was $20.. without a tip. Papas and Bier is a better lunch, better value and they have more locations.. each with a line out the door. Not hard to do the math on that one Paul. It is a popular vote.

  6. paul_randall

    Jeff,

    The quality is not even comparable. You spent 20 bucks at lunch? LOL. A fajita is 11 dollars and a beer is $4.50. Not too far off from what you would spend at Pops-n-Beers for lunch. I guess you had a harder time with the math than you thought. But to each his own. I’ll pay a buck or so more at a local eatery for much better, fresher food and you can save a buck while chompin’ down on Sysco. Enjoy!

  7. bobaloo

    Papas and Beer is local isn’t it? Just because they’ve had success and opened more than one location doesn’t make them non-local. If I’m wrong please let me know. Also, I can get a large, well prepared lunch for under 6 bucks (assuming I get water, of course).
    In any case, I don’t like bananas in my burrito. The few times I’ve been there and requested they exclude something from my meal I was treated like a pariah.

    APBC isn’t the be all end all for pizza IMO, but they are truly local. Who would you have preferred?

  8. Jeff

    Paul, I guess I made the mistake of asking where the chips and salsa were. That was $.4. That with the overpriced beer and tax made it $20 pre-tip.

    I’m not going to get in a war of wits with an unarmed man. Price is a part of whether one finds a certain business more favorable than another. Salsa’s is significantly overpriced so I choose to not go there. Apparently more MX readers agree with me than with you.

    Move on.

  9. ashevillain7

    Papa’s & Beer, while a locally owned establishment, does not source it’s food locally. That is the 1st distinction to be made. Secondly, there is absolutely no comparison to the either the style or the quality of the food. Salsa’s is hands down better but also very different. Papa’s & Beer is flat out nasty. If I want cheap Mexican food I go to Cocula or La Carreta. I’ve had food from Papa’s & Beer that tasted and smelled like their cleaning chemicals. Literally, I think they had sprayed something on my plate.

    As far as pricing goes…Papa’s & Beer is not downtown and it really only is a couple bucks cheaper. You have to know there is an inflationary aspect to dining downtown. If $2-3 dollars makes or breaks you, it’s probably not a good idea to be eating at either restaurant. Every time I’ve never eaten at Salsa’s I’ve only been able to finish half of my meal….so IMO Salsa’s is cheaper because I get 2 meals in one. Their food reheats nicely too.

    Oh and Circle in the Square is by far the best pizza as well!

  10. Dionysis

    “Salsa’s is significantly overpriced so I choose to not go there. Apparently more MX readers agree with me than with you.”

    I’ve been there only twice, finding it only ‘okay’ but with inflated prices, and (at least in my limited experience) the waitstaff seemed semi-catatonic.

  11. paul_randall

    Unarmed man, lol. Armed with what? My own opinion? An eating establishment being overpriced is relative, is it not? And the category(if I’m not mistaken) is NOT “most affordable” restaurant. If people voted for Papas and Beer because it’s cheaper then they are voting for the wrong reason. Compare it dish to dish and it’s not even a contest. And yes, more MX readers agree with you than me. Congrats. I guess quantity must outweigh quality in your book. I’m done.

  12. paul_randall

    Bobaloo,

    I actually like APC’s pizza, mainly because I dig all kinds of pie but it’s nothing special when compared to Circle on the Square, Nona Mia’s or even Franks Roman Pizza on Tunnel Rd…all local.

    And yes, Papas and Beer is local but is considered a chain and was open in Greenville, SC before it expanded into Asheville.

  13. debbie

    I totally agree, Sazerac is the most overrated and overpriced bar in asheville

  14. UnaffiliatedVoter

    Sazeracs has some great food and drinks!

    Fantastic Shrimp Remoulade and the roast beef sandwich is wonderful.

  15. Aaron Brown

    Yes, I enjoy this form of media and i was shock when WNC Best Of Asheville did not cover Local-Media which play a big-part like Child-Care and more, which is great but since June/July you guys have used the Mountain-Xpress as a tool, in which Hurt and Stop/Cut the Budget for a number of Programs,what ever is going on still has not a thing to do with the Producers and the Local Viewers in The WNC.For those who are new to Asheville, don’t like to go out much, what ever the case, maybe Channel 20 is Local the who run/ how has , not a thing to do with the viewer/producer and to not cover a area like this a media that showcase every-walk and more,but i think somewhere along the line you guys need to see the common-bond,cheap-shots and cover story’s effect Asheville as a whole.

  16. paul_randall

    Okay, lemme get this straight….Silver Drummer Girl won “worst” street performer and was 2nd “favorite” street performer? Mxpress should save some trees and scale this trivial stuff back to one issue. Stretching this out 2 weeks is an obvious indicator that there are just too many categories.

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